Massachusetts Route 1A

Route 1A marker

Route 1A
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length: 95.12 mi[1] (153.08 km)
Existed: by 1927 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 1A in Pawtucket, RI
  I95 in Attleboro
I495 in Wrentham
Providence Highway in Dedham
I93 / US 1 / Route 3 in Boston
I90 / Mass Pike in Boston
Route 128 in Beverly
US 1 from Newburyport to Salisbury
North end: NH 1A in Seabrook, NH
Highway system
US 1Route C1

Route 1A is a southnorth state highway in Massachusetts. It is an alternate route to U.S. 1 with three signed sections and two unsigned sections where the highway is concurrent with its parent. Due to the reconfiguration of tunnel interchanges brought on by the completion of the Big Dig, Route 1A is discontinuous in the downtown Boston area. Vehicles entering Downtown Boston via the Sumner Tunnel must take I-93 north to the exit for Government Center and make a U-turn to access the entrance ramp to I-93 south (which silently carries Route 1A south as well) and vice versa.[2]

Route description

Rhode Island border to Attleboro

A short segment of Route 1A, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) in length, in Attleboro runs from U.S. Route 1A at the Rhode Island border through a junction with Interstate 95, before heading north and merging with Route 1. The entire length of this segment is known as Newport Avenue.

North Attleborough to Dedham

This segment of Route 1A extends roughly north from North Attleborough to Dedham, passing through the towns of Plainville, Wrentham, Norfolk, Walpole, Norwood and Westwood on the way. Prior to its realignment along I-95 and I-93, Route 1 continued north along the Providence Highway towards Boston at the junction of Route 1A and that road.

Boston to Salisbury

This segment of Route 1A extends from Boston, Massachusetts to Salisbury, Massachusetts.

The highway starts from US 1 (which is on the Central Artery with I-93 and Route 3) at the former Government Center/Logan Airport interchange. It passes through the Callahan Tunnel (outbound/northbound, no toll) and Sumner Tunnel (inbound/southbound, toll), becoming the East Boston Expressway past Logan Airport. The East Boston Expressway was the first freeway built in the city. Immediately beyond Logan Airport, Interstate 90 ends at Route 1A.

The road continues as a divided highway through Revere. It is a limited access highway through Revere, passing Suffolk Downs and the Wonderland Greyhound Park (which is across the street from the outer terminus of the MBTA's Blue Line), before running through the isolated Point of Pines neighborhood and exiting Revere over the General Edwards Bridge into Lynn. For the first mile and a half in Lynn, it is concurrent with the Lynnway, and is a high-traffic retail area. After the Lynnway portion, the route becomes concurrent with Route 129 for a mile, before crossing into Swampscott as Paradise Road. At Vinnin Square, it passes into Salem as Loring Avenue, passing by Salem State University. The route turns left onto Lafayette Street and is concurrent with Route 114. At the intersection with Derby Street, notable for the large fire station, the route turns right. At the next stop sign, the route turns left onto Hawthorne Boulevard passing Salem Common and the Salem Witch Museum before turning left onto Winter Street. At the end of Winter Street, the route turns right onto Bridge Street crossing the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Beverly. It follows two of the main streets of downtown Beverly, before heading north, passing through Wenham and Hamilton (through this section the road is occasionally signed as a US Route) before becoming the main road through the town of Ipswich, crossing the historic Choate Bridge over the Ipswich River. While in Ipswich, much of the route runs concurrently with Route 133 until just over the town line into Rowley. It passes through the main village of Rowley, as well as the central villages of Newbury. In Newburyport, Massachusetts, it merges with Route 1, signed with its parent highway over the Merrimack River and into the town center of Salisbury. It then heads east from the Salisbury town center before turning north and ending in Salisbury Beach at the New Hampshire border. New Hampshire Route 1A continues north from this point.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
BristolAttleboro0.0000.000 US 1A south PawtucketContinuation into Rhode Island
0.4120.663 I95 – Foxboro, Boston, Providence, RIExits 2A-B on I-95
1.6372.634 Route 123 Attleboro, Brockton, Valley Falls, RI
1.7282.781 US 1 southSouthern terminus of silent concurrency with US 1
See US 1 mileposts 2.47.0
North Attleborough7.10911.441 US 1 southNorthern terminus of silent concurrency with US 1
NorfolkPlainville7.98112.844 Route 106 east to US 1 Mansfield, West BridgewaterWestern end of Route 106
Wrentham10.63417.114 I495 to I95 – Cape Cod, LowellExit 15 on I-495
11.37518.306 Route 121 south – Woonsocket, RINorthern end of Route 121
12.84020.664 Route 140 Franklin, Foxboro, Taunton
Norfolk15.09124.287 Route 115 – Foxboro, Norfolk, Millis
Walpole19.7031.70 Route 27 Medfield, Sharon, Stoughton
Dedham27.14443.684 Providence Highway to I95 / US 1 / Route 128  Boston, Providence, RIFormerly US 1, south end of silent concurrency with Providence Highway and then US 1
See Route 128 exits 15-12 and I-93 exits 1-24B
SuffolkBoston I93 north / US 1 north (Central Artery) / Route 3 north (Storrow Drive) – Government CenterNorthern terminus of silent concurrency with US 1
Exit 24B on the Central Artery, Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Haymarket SquareNorthbound entrance only
Sumner (southbound) / Callahan (northbound) Tunnels
Porter Street  East BostonNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Logan AirportNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
50.02380.504 I90 / Mass Pike west Ted Williams Tunnel, WorcesterEast end of I-90, southbound exit and northbound entrance; Alternative access to Logan International Airport
50.30580.958 Route 145 north (Bennington Street) Winthrop, ChelseaInterchange, south end of Route 145
Revere52.48784.470 Route 145Interchange, northbound exit and southbound entrance
52.85285.057 Route 16 west / Route 60 west Saugus, Malden, New Hampshire, MaineEastern end of Routes 16 and 60; To US 1 via Route 60; To Route 145 via Route 16
EssexLynn55.84389.871Lynnway east  Nahant, Swampscott
58.01893.371 Route 129 west LynnSouthern terminus of concurrency with Route 129
59.16795.220 Route 129 east Swampscott, MarbleheadNorthern terminus of concurrency with Route 129
Salem62.554100.671 Route 114 east MarbleheadSouthern terminus of concurrency with Route 114
63.326101.913 Route 114 westNorthern terminus of concurrency with Route 114
64.250103.400 Route 107 south Lynn, RevereNorth end of Route 107
Danvers River64.933104.500Essex Bridge
Beverly65.447105.327 Route 22 north / Route 127 northSouth end of Routes 22 and 127
66.242106.606 Route 62 Danvers, Beverly Farms
67.699108.951 Route 97 north TopsfieldSouth end of Route 97
67.897109.270 Route 128 Gloucester, Rockport, Peabody, BostonExits 20A-B on Route 128
Ipswich75.603121.671 Route 133 east EssexSouthern terminus of concurrency with Route 133
Rowley79.754128.352 Route 133 west GeorgetownNorthern terminus of concurrency with Route 133
Newburyport88.395142.258 Route 113 west West Newbury, HaverhillEast end of Route 113
88.588142.569 US 1 south Danvers, BostonSouthern terminus of concurrency with US 1, southbound exit and northbound entrance
Salisbury90.879146.256 US 1 north / Route 110 west Amesbury, Haverhill, Hampton, NHNorthern terminus of concurrency with US 1, east end of Route 110
95.120153.081 NH 1A north to NH 286 HamptonContinuation into New Hampshire
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Massachusetts Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  2. Executive Office of Transportation - Office of Transportation Planning Roads - June 2008 The older tunnels to and from East Boston have interchanges with I-93 and surface roads north of the point at which unsigned Route 1A "exits" Route 1 in downtown Boston. Unsigned Route 1A along the Fitzgerald Expressway does not directly connect to those tunnels; a direct connection requires using I-90 and the newer Ted Williams Tunnel, which is not concurrent with Route 1A at any point.

External links

Route map: Bing

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Massachusetts Route 1A.